Queen Elizabeth II granted 64-year-old Camilla Parker Bowles, wife of her son Prince Charles, the highest female rank in the Royal Victorian Order to honor Camilla on her seventh wedding anniversary. She is now a Dame Grand Cross. The Queen has the sole right to bestow ranks to individuals who serve her or the monarchy.

The thought of Camilla working her way so strongly into the hearts of either the English people or the monarch once seemed far-fetched. Camilla was, at times, at least partially blamed for breaking up Charles and Princess Diana and was less than admired when she married Charles. The second marriage for Charles put the monarchy in a conundrum of what title to give Camilla, still not referred to as Princess of Wales out of respect for Diana.

But as Camilla has proved a more-than-capable royal, the public has widely accepted her. The Duchess of Cornwall has represented the monarch and Prince Charles hundreds of times in the past seven years in public events both at home and abroad.

The newest Dame Grand Cross was recently seen at a London event with the Queen and the Duchess of Cambridge (we once knew her as Kate Middleton), surely a powerful royal trio. And they all have the titles to back it up.